Lost and Found
by Ivvic
Summary: Sequel to Findings. Raven is away and Damon begins to think that his 'soulmate' is really just a spell.
1. Lost and Found

Lost and Found  
Disclaimer: Most characters belong to LJ Smith ut Raven is mine.  
Spoilers and Bases On: VD and NW  
  
Part 1:  
  
Damon Salvatore lay awake staring at the ceiling of his motel  
room. He had been doing so all night. But he never really saw  
it. Instead his thoughts wandered. Occasionally landing on  
Raven. His soulmate.  
  
Damon snorted, not even sure if he still believed it. The half  
witch had probably just cast a spell on him. Suddenly he was sure  
of it. He didn't believe in soulmates, they were all a big crock.  
  
'Then why are you still here, why did you come back?' a voice in  
Damon asked.  
  
'Because of that spell. That's why,' he told the voice harshly  
and not listening to any arguments it had. The spell must be  
wearing off, he decided. She hasn't been able to refresh it  
because she's been gone.  
  
Raven wouldn't even tell him why she kept leaving for so long.   
Probably has another boyfriend, he though. The voice winced at  
that and told him it wasn't true.  
  
Damon decided to leave town. Go back to his villa in Italy. He  
would be out of her reach there. He swung his legs over the side  
of the bed and sat up. Damon packed quickly and left even faster.  
  
Soon he was boarding a flight that would stop first in New York  
and then he would board another plane that would carry him all the  
way to Italy. He slouched in his first class seat and tried to  
sleep. But something kept nagging in the back of his mind. He  
shoved it away impatiently and concentrated on the flight  
attendant.  
  
She was a pretty little thing, he thought to himself. He decided  
that latter in the flight he would have to get to know her a  
little later. 'Maybe I'll try the in flight meal,' he thought. It  
brought a humorless smile to his lips.  
  
Damon didn't get a chance to sample the lady because there was  
some trouble with the plane. Nothing to worry about but just to  
be safe they were going to land and have the plane checked out.  
  
Damon cursed out loud. He wanted to leave the wretched country  
as soon as possible. In the corner of his mind he felt like  
something was wrong, but he shoved the thought away impatiently.   
He went to ask the flight attendant if there was a plane he could  
switch to so he could make the trip in as short of time as was  
possible. 


	2. Lost and Found

Lost and Found  
Disclaimer: Most characters belong to LJ Smith ut Raven is mine.  
Spoilers and Bases On: VD and NW  
  
Part 2:  
  
Raven Johnson stepped softly, gesturing for the others to follow  
her.  
  
/This is going to be dangerous, but I think it's our only shot,/  
she told them. /If we get a fight then watch every ones backs. I  
want everyone to leave this place alive./  
  
In the darkness Raven could make out two shapes nodding and she  
heard three other agreements in her head. Raven's team included  
Ash Redfern, Quinn, and Honey Stone, who were all vampires, Nala  
and Jeffery, two shape shifters.  
  
They all crept into the building as silently as possible. The  
main thing was to free a captured Circle Daybreak agent. Rebecca  
Tomas was a human who had joined three years ago when her sister  
had been nearly murdered by a were-wolf. She had become a very  
accomplished spy since then.  
  
'Except on her last mission,' Raven thought. That's when Becky  
had gotten caught and hadn't been able to escape. Becky's other  
nick name was Houdini (sp?) because she could normally get in or  
out of anything. The expert lock pick had taught Raven a few  
things too.  
  
Raven took into stock the layout at hand. There were three  
people near Becky who was tied up on a chair and about five more  
lounging about or doing whatever around the room.  
  
/We're a little out numbered here so the second someone grabs the  
girl cover their back and beat it./  
  
The six Daybreakers got as close to Rebecca as they could before  
they were caught. A vampire let out a startled yelp when he saw  
them, announcing they were there.  
  
The fight broke out and all the Daybreakers had their hands full,  
but keeping the mission in mind they stealthily worked their way  
towards the center of the room where Rebecca was.  
  
Nala half shifted into her bobcat form and lunged for a dark-  
haired witch. She landed on him and her paw swiped the 'wolf  
behind her. The 'wolfs head fell back and slammed into the corner  
of the wall and he slumped to the floor leaving a red trail on the  
wall. Nala made short work of the witch, not quite killing him.  
  
Jeffery full shifted into his gorilla form and slammed a ham-  
sized fist into one vampire. He flew a couple feet before  
landing, where he stayed double over and winded.  
  
Ash and Quinn were fist fighting two vampires, throwing theirs  
fists with their full weight behind it and ducking occasionally.  
  
Honey was on the floor wrestling with a vampire and Raven had to  
jump over the two to avoid being tripped. Her attention stayed  
focused on her opponent. He was slightly distracted and Raven  
used it to her advantage.  
  
She threw a punch and connected with his jaw, causing his head to  
snap back. He stumbled back and regained his balance instantly.   
He stepped back again as Raven kept going towards him.  
  
Honey had knocked out her vampire and as helping Nala. Nala slit  
the ropes binding Becky to the chair with a wicked looking  
switchblade. Honey slung Becky over her shoulder, because they  
could go faster that way, and ran with her. Nala cleared the  
girls a path and they were out the door in seconds.  
  
"Go, go!" someone yelled. Nearly everyone started going out the  
door. Raven's team was Nala and Honey's back up and the Night  
Worlders were trying to get Rebecca back.  
  
Raven turned to see if Becky had gotten out. She had so Raven  
tried to leave. But the guy she had been fighting tackled her  
throwing both of them to the ground. The vampire Jeremy had  
winded was up again and helped the guy on top of Raven hold her  
down.  
  
As much as Raven hated to admit it she was stuck. One guy was  
just plain sitting on her, pinning her arms and making it  
difficult to breathe. The other held her legs down so she  
couldn't kick. 


	3. Lost and Found

Part 3:  
  
'Well,' Raven, thought to herself. 'At least we got the girl  
out.' The last of the people that had been chasing her group  
trailed in. Raven was bound to the chair Becky had occupied  
earlier.  
  
"Welcome to our humble abode," the guy who had sat on her said.   
Raven remembered him from the file Circle Daybreak had given her  
about the people they believed had caught Rebecca. His name was  
Shale Thorn.  
  
"Gee thanks," Raven said dryly.  
  
"You don't live anywhere near Nebraska do you?" Raven didn't  
answer him so he continued. "What's so important that you came  
all the way here to get that girl?"  
  
"What gives you any idea that I'm going to tell you anything?"  
  
"No reason in particular. Yet. You'll talk later if you want to  
feed, no vampire can last long without blood," Shale told her  
smoothly.  
  
"You're going to starve me?" Raven demanded bursting out with  
laughter. Raven could go without food as long as a human could.   
She wouldn't fall into the blood lust Shale wanted her to. Of she  
had been a full vampire she might have and then Shale would  
probably get the answers he wanted.  
  
Humans just felt extreme hunger and got seriously weak and once  
they were unconscious you couldn't just revive them sticking food  
in front of them. You put blood in front of a starved vampire they  
would most likely snap to their senses to get to it.  
  
"I hope you don't have a problem with that," Shale muttered  
sarcastically.  
  
"Good luck," Raven told them. Shale got an out raged look on his  
face and stepped towards her. Then he punched her. It was a very  
good hit. Raven's head snapped back.  
  
"That was hardly fair," she ground out trying to stop the world  
from spinning.  
  
"Neither is this going to be. Night," he told her. A vampire  
came up behind her. Raven heard him and forced herself not to  
tense. Then a nice solid wooden bat connected with the back of  
Raven's skull. She slumped forward in the chair, unconscious.  
  
"Now, we have matters to attend to," Shale told the witches,  
shape shifters and vampires gathered in the room.  
  
Shale ran a gang of renegade Nightworlders. Of course this  
wasn't nearly all of them. Shale recruited as many people as he  
could and in the past year he had gotten 300 members. He wanted  
to take over the day world.  
  
The Joint-Council didn't take it seriously enough. They wanted  
to wait until the millennium. Shale figured that if he started  
the war early then the council would get moving.  
  
"When are we going to California?" Opal asked, laying a hand on  
Shale's arm.  
  
"As soon as we're done with this chick," Shale told her, glancing  
disdainfully at the hand on his arm. They were going to grab a  
few small towns, without many Night Worlders in them and spread  
out, grabbing every city they came to. After the first few they  
hoped that the rest of the Night World would join in all over the  
world.  
  
They already had their first town picked out and every thing. 


	4. Lost and Found

Part 4:  
  
Damon paced in the waiting area of the airport restlessly. He  
was waiting to see when they thought the plane would be ready. Or  
when they could get another to carry them. Then he could go out  
and hunt while they waited. He felt his canines itch slightly at  
the thought of food and he poked at them with his tongue.  
  
"Thank you all for waiting so patiently. We are very sorry to  
say but we can't get another plane for 2 and a half hours. We can  
try to place you on other flights but it doesn't look that  
hopeful."  
  
Damon growled angrily barely restraining from smashing his fist  
into the nearest wall. He forced himself to calm down. He looked  
at the other upset passengers for some pretty girl who might make  
a nice meal.  
  
Not finding anybody he turned and started to wander the airport.   
Then he collapsed. Damon was dimly aware of people crowding  
around him. Instead he focused on what was going through his mind.  
  
Raven's subconscious had somehow managed to reach Damon through  
their soulmate link.  
  
'What the hell do you want?' he thought at the vision of Raven.  
  
The vision couldn't answer in words but Damon got a sense of  
danger and pain through the link. He also got a sense of where  
Raven was. Then the contact Raven established cut off.  
  
Damon sat up and shook his head slightly, barely noticing the  
crowd around him. He pushed through after picking up himself and  
his duffel.  
  
"Sir, you may want to," a lady's voice called out after him.   
Damon ignored it and walked swiftly to where he could rent a car.   
The only thing available was a pick-up truck but Damon didn't care.  
  
He wasn't able to convince himself that the soulmate link was a  
spell any more. He wasn't really able to focus on anything but  
getting to Raven. Knowing she was in danger did something to him.   
He was furious at who ever was hurting her. 


	5. Lost and Found

Part 5:  
  
Raven came to with a throbbing headache and feeling cramped. At  
first she didn't realize why. She sat up instantly alert as she  
remembered where she was.  
  
Raven wasn't bound to a chair anymore, instead she was in an  
empty room with a metal cot and no windows. She wasn't lying on  
the cot. Oh no, Shale had had her dumped unceremoniously in front  
of the door.  
  
She stood stretching tentatively. Her wound up muscles  
protected. She sat on the cot trying to figure out where she was.  
It was obvious that she wasn't in the same warehouse, that would  
be the first place Circle Daybreak would check and if she still  
were in the same place she'd still be on her chair.  
  
As she was thinking this she heard someone outside the door. She  
froze for a second. Then she reached out with her mind and  
grabbed a hold of whoever was out there.  
  
Raven's guard's name was Adolph. He was a werewolf who had  
recently married. Raven didn't really care about that. She was  
more interested in the fact that Shale was planning on starting  
the Millennium wars early.  
  
Then she realized with a start that one of the first places on  
his hit list was where her family lived. She started to influence  
Adolph to open the door but Shale came into view.  
  
"Let him go," Shale's voice carried through the door. He wasn't  
stupid and he knew Raven was highly telepathic. Instead of  
listening to him she made Adolph swing at him with his whole  
weight behind the blow.  
  
She caught Shale off guard and though he tried to get out of the  
way he wasn't fast enough. She caught Shale's jaw with Adolph's  
fist. He growled in pain and nearly launched himself at Adolph.  
  
Shale opened the door and came in grinning savagely at her.   
Raven bared her teeth but didn't move.  
  
"Dear girl, don't you know it isn't polite to use others in  
trouble like that?" he said in a sweet voice.  
  
"Look who's talking. You conned him into believing that you  
could pull some insane stunt like the one you're planning on."  
  
"Do you really think I can't pull it off? And why not?"  
  
"Because the old fashioned council is just going to try to cover  
up any trace of the Night World to the Day world. Killing who  
ever they need to keep the secret is no bother to them."  
  
"They'll change their minds. I'll make it so they'll have to."  
  
"You are insane," Raven told him flatly.  
  
"Whatever you say. But I'm not the one stupid enough to get  
caught because of a human?"  
  
"What you'd rather get trying to save a pointy stick of wood?"   
Shale didn't quite get what she meant and he gave her a strange  
look. Raven was trying not to make sense to catch him off guard.  
  
She launched herself at him, teeth bared. She tried to rip his  
throat out but he blocked it. He threw her off him. Raven knew  
something was up. She didn't feel quite right. Her body wasn't  
responding properly or as fast as it should.  
  
"You'll find that you aren't able to use your witch powers. We  
injected you with some iron." Raven's eyes widened fractionally.   
She knew that if you did that to a full witch he or she would most  
likely never be able to use their powers again. But Raven wasn't  
a full witch so it might not have full term effects on her.  
  
Raven growled in the back of her throat, glaring at him.  
  
"Now, now, no need to get upset, half breed. Not yet."  
  
"How'd you know I was a half-breed?" Raven asked after it finally  
occurred to her.  
  
"One of the shape-shifters told me." That surprised Raven  
slightly because normally they couldn't, even though shape-  
shifters were the best at knowing what race you were.  
  
"Is that so," she muttered having nothing better to say. She  
wanted to ask why he was hitting such a small town first but she  
didn't want him to know that she knew.  
  
"Yes, it is. Now, down to business. Do you want to answer my  
questions?"  
  
"No," she responded simply and immediately.  
  
"Holler when you do. Oh and don't expect to influence your guard  
again. I'll post some one who can block his mind better."  
  
"Fat chance. Every one hears must be under your influence to put  
you in charge. And it's obvious I'm stronger then you are."  
  
"Then why are you the one locked up in here?" he asked refusing  
to take the bait. Raven bristled and threw telepathic waves at  
him. She was glad it was one of the new powers vampires were  
developing and not something to credit to her witch blood.  
  
Shale gasped in pain and had to brace himself against doubling  
over. Raven jumped on him and tried to strike him with her teeth.  
Instead someone came in through the door and pinned her arms  
behind her back. She kicked at him over her head but he dodged  
the blow.  
  
They pinned Raven to the bed and tried a bast cord around one of  
her ankles to the cot. The witch who had come in at such a  
convenient time put a spell on it so she couldn't untie the knots.  
  
"You bastard!" she yelled at Shale's back. "You coward. Come on,  
take me in a fair fight. Just you and me. No goons and no  
tricks."  
  
"As appealing as that may sound I can't. Not right now in a any  
case. I have matters to attend to. Make yourself at home.   
Because this will be your only home until you give me what I  
want." Shale turned and left before Raven could throw a shock  
wave at him.  
  
She scowled at nothing. She couldn't do anything in this room.   
Not even pace properly thanks to the cord. She tapped on of her  
fangs with her tongue as she thought.  
  
It elongated to a thin sharp point. Having nothing else to do  
Raven sat on the cot and grabbed a hold of the cord. It wasn't  
that thick. She gnawed at it for what felt like forever.  
  
The strands slowly began to give way and snap. Although it had  
felt like a small eternity later it was probably only hours when  
the last strand popped and Raven was free of the cot. She still  
had the cord tied around her ankle but that didn't really matter.  
  
All Raven had to do now was wait. She lay on the cot and began  
top sleep lightly. She would wake up the second someone walked  
near the door. 


	6. Lost and Found

Part 6:  
  
Damon found himself driving in some of the trashier parts of  
Omaha Nebraska. He sensed Raven was pretty near to where he was.   
He found some human walking down an ally and pounced on the  
frightened boy.  
  
He feed knowing he shouldn't be while he fought who ever or what  
ever to get Raven out of where ever. He found the building and  
parked a few alleys over. He knew they had probably heard the  
truck but he didn't really care.  
  
He forced open a window and crept in begging his search for  
Raven. He was in a room that pretty much looked like a cell. It  
even had a cot in it. That's when he fell to the floor as Raven's  
soul contacted him again.  
  
This time she told him of Shale's plans. Damon didn't really  
care about the town but he knew Raven was worried that her family  
would get hurt if Shale actually managed to start his stupid ideas.  
  
Damon got up, shaking his head slightly after Raven's soul  
released him from his trance like state. He got up and start to  
walk down the hall to where Raven's room was.  
  
Instead Shale came waltzing around the corner and spotted him.  
  
"Who are you and what do you want?" Shale demanded angrily as he  
advanced towards Damon.  
  
"My name's Damon Salvatore and I heard you were going to start  
the wars early. It sounds like a good idea to me so I thought I'd  
stop by to see if you needed any help," he said smoothly.  
  
"Sure, we could use your help," Shale said quickly. He had heard  
of Damon. But hen again who hadn't. The Italian vampire had been  
around a lot in the past 500 hundred years.  
  
From what Shale had heard Damon was fast, stronger and more  
cunning then most vampires. Not to mention absolutely viscous.   
They walked down the hall and Shale began telling Damon some of  
his plans as they walked down the hall. 


	7. Lost and Found

Part 7:  
  
"You mentioned some sort of problem?" Damon asked as Shale ran  
out of things to say.  
  
"It's not that big. We caught this Daybreaker half-breed. She  
should tell us what we want after a few days. Then we can kill  
her."  
  
"Why kill her?" Damon asked. He bared his teeth in a cruel  
smile, showing pointed teeth.  
  
"She knows that I plan on starting the wars earlier. Why?" Shale  
asked. He didn't see any reason that Damon would care about a  
little mutt.  
  
"Can I do the honors?" Damon asked clicking his teeth. Shale  
laughed, all doubts erased,  
  
"Sure, if you don't mind the blood of mutts."  
  
'How is it that his very voice irritates me?' Damon thought to  
himself. It wasn't what Shale was saying, it was his voice. He  
had a very nasal voice, like a country singer. (A/N sorry if this  
offends anyone. I hate country music and don't have a high  
opinion of the signers.)  
  
"You want to see her now?" Shale was continuing. "Maybe you can  
talk some... sense into her."  
  
"Sure," Damon agreed. 'Shale couldn't be any more stupid. He's  
giving me the perfect chance.'  
  
Shale opened a door and start to gesture for Damon to enter when  
a something barreled into him. Shale landed on the floor with a  
muffled 'oomph' as the wind was knocked out of him.  
  
/Come on,/ Raven called to Damon as she kept running. She ducked  
in an open door and lept out the window with Damon close on her  
heels. Of course it wasn't that easy.  
  
Shale had yelled telepathically for his people to get them when  
Damon had turned to follow Raven instead of grabbing her. So  
about 20 people were coming from both sides of the warehouse.  
  
"Run?" Raven asked through clenched teeth. Damon nodded and they  
took off.   
  
They basically ignored who they could and tried not to stop to  
fight. Raven had to push her self away from several people and  
Damon had to literally throw a werewolf off of him. The stupid  
wolf had tried to tackle him.  
  
Another vampire leapt at Damon and caught him in a flying tackle.  
They rolled to the ground and Damon tried to get out from under  
the heavy weight. He was taking to long and a bunch of other  
people were catching up to him.  
  
Raven kicked the vampire squarely in the ribs and helped Damon  
throw him. Then they took off running again. They were at Damon's  
pick up truck again.  
  
Damon was in front of Raven and started the truck as soon as he  
got in. Raven had just gotten to it and vaulted into the bed to  
save time. Damon peeled put and Raven had to hold onto the side  
of the bed tightly.  
  
/Don't you know that isn't safe?/ Damon asked her. He was  
referring to both the fact that she was riding in the back of the  
pick-up and getting caught.  
  
/Is it really?/ Raven asked laughing. /Step on it, they're  
getting in their cars./ Damon speed up and three cars began  
following him. A loud gunshot rang out and Raven yelled as she  
threw herself down.  
  
/Are you O.K.?/ Damon asked.  
  
/Yeah, it wasn't wood tipped,/Raven lied. She braced herself  
against the sides of the bed as Damon turned sharply. After a lot  
more turns taken way to fast they had gotten rid of their tales.  
  
Damon parked across the street from a playground and came around  
to the back of the gate to see Raven's wound. She pulled her  
sweat shirt over her head so he could see it better.  
  
"If that wasn't wood-tipped how come it hasn't healed?" Damon  
asked. Raven didn't even bother to answer. Damon pulled out his  
pocket knife and began to remove the bullet. He didn't look at  
her face as he did so.  
  
Raven winced but refused to make a noise. It hurt like hell and  
her whole shoulder was on fire.  
  
"Thanks for rescueing me," Raven said after Damon pulled the  
bullet out.  
  
"You'd of gotten out on your own," he replied, not looking up.  
  
"What's wrong?" Raven asked in a conserned voice.  
  
"Why were you there? Where do you always disappear to?" Damon  
demanded looking her in the eye.  
  
"I didn't want to say. I work for Circle Daybreak. When it  
turned out you hadn't already found out through the link I didn't  
want to tell you I was one of the damned Daybreakers."  
  
"You aren't damned," Damon said. He leaned over and pulled her  
to him. He kissed her passonatitly and this time Raven didn't hold  
back any secrets. But she wished Damon would do the same.  
  
'He'll tell me when he's ready,' she told herself firmly.  
  
/Huh?/ Damon asked.  
  
/Nothing. We have to tell some one about what Shale's planning on  
doing,/Raven said when she remembered the outsideworld again.   
They went to a hotel and checked in for the night and Raven called  
Theirry.  
  
"This is a grave matter indeed. I'll talk to the others on the  
joint council as soon as possible. You and your friend should  
watch your backs. Can I expect to see you at the mansion in a few  
days?"  
  
"Yes Lord Thiery. I have to wrap something up first. Is Becca  
ok?"  
  
"Yes. She's worried about you though. She'll be pleased to know  
you're ok."  
  
"Thanks." Raven started to hang up but Theirry stared to say  
something else.  
  
"Watch your back. Your team will meet you at your parents house."  
  
"Ok. Bye."  
  
"Good-bye."  
  
"Well?" Damon asked as he came out of the bathroom.  
  
"My team is going to meet me at my house."  
  
"Oh." Damon sat on the bed and kicked his shes off before  
flopping down. Raven chewed on her lower lip for a minute.  
  
"Your family will be fine. Come over. I'll help take your mind  
off matters," he suggested.  
  
"You are to wicked," Raven said but she lay down on the bed nexst  
to Damon anyways. He turned to face her. Propped up on his elbow.  
  
"I am?" Raven leaned forward and grabbed Damon's shirt and  
pulled him forward slightly.  
  
"Yes," she whishpered before kissing him passionately.  



	8. Lost and Found

Part 8:  
  
Raven woke up to hear the phone ringing. 'Who had the number?'  
she wondered briefly as she picked up the receiver.  
  
"Raven? This is Thierry. I've taken the liberty of getting you  
some plane tickets."  
  
"Thank you. When's the flight?" she asked waking up completely.   
She glanced at the glowing red numbers of the clock. It was four  
in the morning.  
  
"In an hour. Sorry to have you so pressed for time but I knew  
you'd want to leave as soon as possible."  
  
"Thank you so much Lord Thierry," Raven said. Thierry told her  
where to pick up the tickets and they hung up. Raven shook Damon  
forcing him to wake up.  
  
"What do you want?" he half groaned.  
  
"Thierry got us tickets. Get ready so we can leave." Damn  
muttered something and rolled over. Raven got up and went into  
the bathroom to shower. She pulled her shirt off, grimacing as it  
stuck to her wound for a second.  
  
Raven got in the shower and turned on the hot water. It helped  
ease her tension but when she turned to wash her back....  
  
"Raven, are you ok?" Damon asked banging on the locked door.   
Raven bared her teeth in a barbaric smile at nothing. She had bit  
off her shriek but not soon enough for it to have escaed Damon's notice.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"Why'd you scream?" he demanded.  
  
"I told you I'm fine. Let me shower in peace." Raven shook her  
head. Sometimes she could be so forgetful. Having a wound that  
had barely scabbed over and exposing it to beating hot water was  
not the best thing.  
  
But she had to finish getting clean so she gingerly climbed back  
over the rim of the tub and entered the stream of water. Teeth  
clenched she washed out the wound that should have healed almost  
completely already.  
  
Raven toweled off very gently and got dressed again, wearing one  
of Damon's shirts because they weren't bloodstained and it didn't  
have a bullet hole in it. Damon was standing outside the door  
with looking worried.  
  
"Let me see your back," he demanded.  
  
"It's fine," she told him. Hurry up and shower so we can leave,"  
she said evasively. Damon gave her a look, knowing very well her  
back wasn't 'fine'.  
  
They arrived at the airport with twenty minutes to spare. Raven  
found the witch who had their tickets at one of the counters. They  
picked it up and headed for customs. The only bags they had was  
Damon's duffel so it only took them a minute before they were at  
their appropriate gate.  
  
They sat in the uncomfortable chairs and Raven made sure not to  
put any weight on her injured shoulder. Damon gave her a look and  
sighed but didn't say anything. He knew how stubborn she could be.  
  
The announcement to board the plane came after a few minutes.   
They found their seats and boarded without any trouble. The flight  
went smoothly. Raven fell asleep leaning against Damon.  
  
Damon gazed out the window his thoughts wandering. He kept  
thinking about Raven, which was hardly surprising. But he was  
thinking about where she had been shot. She had seemed weaker all  
yesterday and today. Even if the bullet was wood tipped it should  
be practically healed by now. He wished he would let him look at  
it. Maybe then he could figure out what was wrong with it.  
  
Raven didn't wake up the whole trip and when it was time to get  
off she barely seemed conscious. She leaned heavily on Damon as  
they walked off the plane. Raven's eye lit up when she saw her  
family. She guessed Lord Thierry had called them and told them  
when their plane was getting in.  
  
Mary ran up to Raven, who couldn't seem to let go of Damon, and  
threw her arms around the girl. Raven hugged back, using Mary for  
support once she finally let go of Damon's arm.  
  
"Raven, is everything alright? You look awful," Mary said told  
her.  
  
"Gee thanks," Raven said wryly.  
  
"No offense or anything but you do. You're as white as a sheet  
and you look ready to fall over at any moment."  
  
"I feel fine," Raven said with a shrug.  
  
"That's all she ever says," Damon commented.  
  
"Is there something wrong with saying that?" Raven asked hugging  
her mother.  
  
"Only when you're lying."  
  
"Who said I was lying?" Raven asked. "I do feel fine. Jut a  
little sleepy that's all." Then she yawned. After hugging her  
dad she went back to leaning on Damon.  
  
"Well, lets go home so you can rest," Mrs. Johnson suggested.  
Raven nodded and let go of Damon. She took one step forward and  
immediately collapsed. 


	9. Lost and Found

Part 9:  
  
Damon caught Raven before she hit the ground and held her to him  
tightly as he crouched on the airport's floor.  
  
"Raven," he whispered urgently into her hair. "Wake up baby."  
  
"Raven!" Mary yelled.  
  
"What happened to her?" Mrs. Johnson demanded.  
  
"Come on, we have to get her to a hospital," Mr. Johnson's  
rational voice cut through the panicked voices of his family.  
  
Damon nodded, feeling slightly dazed. He rose from his crouch  
and followed the Johnson's to their car. He sat in the back. He  
placed Raven between him and Mary, with her leaning against him  
heavily.  
  
"What happened to her before you got here?" Mrs. Johnson demanded  
turning to face Damon.  
  
"She was shot with a wood tipped bullet," Damon said dully.  
  
"What! You didn't go to the hospital to get in out," she snapped.  
  
"I pulled it out myself so that can't be it. Something else must  
have happened to her," he shot back in a cold voice.  
  
"Why was she even shot?" Mary asked pointedly.  
  
"She was on a Circle Daybreak assignment and got caught by Shale  
and he kept her for a while. I helped her get out of the place  
and as we were escaping they started shooting at us."  
  
"Whatever happened wasn't his fault so leave him be," Mr. Johnson  
said in a calming voice. Mary bit back what she was going to say  
but she kept glaring at him none the less.  
  
Damon carried Raven into the hospital and got one of the nurses  
attention.  
  
"She needs a Night World doctor," he told her. The witch nodded  
and hurried off to get one. Damon laid Raven down where the  
doctor instructed him to.  
  
"What all has happened to her lately?" the witch asked.  
  
"I know she was shot with a wood tipped bullet but something else  
must have happened to her," Damon answered.  
  
"Is the bullet still in her?" she asked.  
  
"No, I took it out last night, almost immediately after she was  
shot," Damon said running a nervous hand through his dark hair.  
  
"Thank you for your help. Now if you could contact her gaurdiens  
or fill out these forms for them in the waiting room?" she asked.   
She was polite enough but it was clear she was dismising Damon.  
  
"Sure," he said taking the clipboard from her and went to the  
waiting room where the Johnson's had grouped.  
  
"The doctor needs you to fill these out," Damaon said pushing the  
forms towards Mr. Johnson.  
  
"Thank you Damon," he said. Damon started to pace in the small  
room but he decided there wasn't enough space in the room and  
stepped outside the door and paced back and forth in the hall.  
  
Mary went through the door after awhile, holding something in her  
hands.  
  
"Would you like some coffee?" she asked. Damon stared blindly  
for a second then nodded accepting the steaming cup greatfully.   
"Why don't you come in and sit with us. Pacing isn't doing you  
any good and besides every time we see you go back and forth in  
front of the windows it's making us even more nevous and worried  
if that's at all possible."  
  
"Sure, thanks for the coffee," he said holding the door open for  
Mary. She gave him a small tight smile as she passed through it.  
Damon sat next to Mr. Johnson, sinking low in his chair, sipping  
at the coffee for the next half hour.  
  
Damon refilled his coffee when he had finally finished and sat  
back down to slowly drain it again. The door opened five minutes  
after he sat down and relvaled the doctor. They all stood as one  
to wait for the verdict.  
  
"At the moment she's in a stable condition. We're not sure how  
long that may last though," the doctor paused giving the Johnsons,  
the humans, a look before continueing. "We're going to keep her  
overnight, or longer if needed for observations and to see what  
further treatments she may need." The doctor made a discrete  
gesture for Damon to follow her as she exited the room.  
  
"She was injected with iron so we can't try and heal her with  
spells. That's also why her vampiric ablilities to heal aren't up  
to par. Has she feed recently?"  
  
"I don't think so..." Damon said slowly. "No, she hasn't," he  
decided in a sure voice.  
  
"Ok then," the doctor stuck her head into the waiting room. "Mr.  
And Mrs. Johnson, can I speak to you for a second?"  
  
They filed out of the room and Damon ducked in to tell Mary what  
was going on. Then he left and told the doctor he was going to  
see Raven. He had already found out where the room was by going  
through her mind. Se glared at him but didn't say or do anything  
to stop him. 


	10. Lost and Found

Part 10:  
  
Damon walked into the room with out making a sound. His heart lurched as he saw Raven laying on the bed. She was almost as pale as the bed sheets and the only color seemed to be her dark hair, which contrasted drastically with the pillow it was spread upon.  
  
Damon remained standing just inside the room as he stared at his soulmate. She hardly looked like she was breathing. There was a heart monitor on the nightstand next to the hospital bed. It scared Damon to see Raven looking so vulnerable and weak.  
  
"I'm not dead yet," Raven said grinning madly. Damon nearly jumped out of his skin.  
  
"You little rat," he said. He guessed Raven had sensed him coming down the hall and remained motionless on purpose. "I guess I shouldn't feel so sorry for you. What with all the hospital food you're going to be subjected to. Who knows, maybe you'll be kept here for weeks."  
  
Raven made a face as he laughed at her. She shifted and started to prop herself up on an elbow. Then she stopped a pain seared up through her shoulder.  
  
"Are you ok?" Damon asked. Raven nodded.  
  
"Those stupid doctors were poking at my stupid back and now it's all sore," she half muttered to her self.   
  
Damon grinned inwardly knowing if she could complain she was fine.  
  
"I heard that," she snapped.  
  
"I thought I told you to stay out of my mind unless you're invited," Damon said, surprised once again at how powerful a telepath she was.   
  
"Don't broadcast and I won't overhear. Besides, aren't I invited?" she asked batting her eyes at him. Damon had to laugh.  
  
"So, where's my family?" Raven asked after a moment of silence.  
  
"Around," he said at the same time Mary walked in the door.  
  
"Mom and Dad'll be along in a moment, they're talking with the doctor."  
  
"Cool. I never got a chance to ask earlier, how are you doing?"  
  
"A lot better then you," Mary said with a laugh.  
  
"I would hope so," Raven agreed. "So when am I getting out of this place?"   
  
"The doctors want you to stay here for the night. They're worried you might have a relapse so they may keep you even longer then that," Mr. Johnson as he followed his wife in the door.  
  
"I am not staying in this place. I don't need to. If I just have a good night's rest I'll be fine," Raven argued as she hugged her mother.  
  
"I don't think it's up to you. I know you don't like staying at the hospital but you'll have to until the doctors say otherwise," he told her calmly.  
  
"I'm not staying here," Raven said moving to get up from the bed.  
  
"Yes you are," Damon said as he placed one hand on Raven's shoulder keeping her in place. "If I have to keep you here myself.'  
  
"Fine. But just for tonight, I'm leaving in the morning," Raven said stubbornly. The Johnson's stayed for a making small talk but Raven didn't really pay attention. After awhile they left knowing that Raven would probably act the same way until she got out of the hospital.  
  
Raven's dad took Damon out into the hall and walked down it for a ways so Raven could hear them.  
  
"You take care of her and make sure she doesn't leave that room. The doctors really don't think she'd be strong enough to do anything other then lay in bed, unless you think that after standing for a while and fainting counts as otherwise."  
  
"I'll take good care of her," he promised. Raven wasn't going to get out of that bed if he could help it.  
  
Raven spent the next half-hour glaring at Damon. He started squirming under her gaze as it began to unnerve him.  
  
"Would you stop it already. You are staying here, in that bed and you can glare all you want, it's not going to help you any." Raven scowled for a second before she went back to glaring. Damon sighed and sat back in the slightly-more-comfortable-then-the-airport-chairs-but-not-really chair.  
  
A couple minutes later a college-aged student came in. He was a witch and for that night he would be Raven's donor. He flirted with Raven during the short moment before she bit him, until he caught Damon's eye and saw the death glares he was getting.  
  
Raven was still moody when the man left but she quit glaring at Damon, opting for staring fixedly at the wall. Damon rolled his eyes as he wished they had a radio or something to break the silence.  
  
Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon Mr. Johnson walked into Raven's room. He wasn't sure anyone was in there at all it was so quiet, but when he peered through the door he saw a dark head lying against the pillow.  
  
Damon he saw was asleep in the visitor chair but Raven was still awake, staring at the ceiling.  
  
"Your mother wanted me to bring you some of your things," he said quietly, so as not to disturb Damon.  
  
"He knows your here, you wont wake him. He's just resting is all," Raven said bitterly.  
  
"I hope you aren't waiting for him to fall asleep completely so you can sneak out," Mr. Johnson said in a warning tone.  
  
"No dad, I'll stay here. I know when I'm beat. Will you hand me that bag? I want to see what mom packed me."  
  
He handed the bag over obligingly and looked at Damon thoughtfully for a moment. Raven pawed through the bag and pulled out a book.  
  
"Cool, my diary."  
  
"Raven, why don't I take Damon home with me, so he can get some proper sleep in the guest room," he suggested.  
  
"That's a good idea, you should do that. Yes, dad, I'll stay in this bed," Raven told him before he could say anything.  
  
"Not one foot out," he said. Raven nodded.  
  
"Just as soon as I change out of this stupid hospital gown," she said in agreement. She grabbed a nightgown from her bag and slid off of the bed. Damon's eyes snapped open and he started to get up.  
  
"You get back," he started to say but was forced to stop talking by a jaw-splitting yawn.  
  
"I'm going to change so keep your pants on," Raven told him rolling her eyes.  
  
"Oh," he said sitting back down.  
  
"Damon, if you'd like to accompany me home we have a guest bedroom that you could use to get a good couple hours of sleep," Mr. Johnson told him.  
  
"No thanks. I'll stay here and watch Raven," Damon said before yawning again.  
  
"She's agreed to not put a foot out of bed. It'll be perfectly all right if you come. It'll do you some good," Mr. Johnson said. Damon paused for a moment before nodding.  
  
"Might as well," he said. He stood and shrugged his shoulders a couple of times to work out the knots. Sitting like that for even a short amount of time could make your muscles cramp, in those stupid plastic chairs at least.  
  
"I'll behave," Raven said came out of the bathroom in an ankle long, misty white night gown. She had to say it after that look Damon had given her. She kissed him on the cheek and climbed into bed.  
  
"Why don't you try and get some sleep yourself?" Damon asked her.  
  
"I might," she said shrugging. She didn't know if she'd be able to. She waved good-bye as Damon and her father went out the door. She was glad Damon was going to get some sleep. She didn't think he had slept on the plane and he hadn't really gotten much sleep since he had decided he was going to move back to Italy, except for the few hours before the plane ride.  
  
Raven settled back into the pillows and started to write in her diary.  
  
At the Johnson house Damon was shown to the guest bedroom. He had barely kicked his shoes off and laid down before he was asleep. 


	11. Lost and Found

Part 11  
  
Darien walked through the woods with Bonnie. Rashel hadn't been happy because Bonnie wasn't going to be able to offer him much protection. Bonnie wasn't too happy either because Rashel wasn't going to let him back out of the house for a while to hunt so he was going to half to feed sometime during their walk.  
  
"You didn't have to come," Darien pointed out.  
  
"But I did and I'm stuck here with you. What are you going to eat from?" she asked trying to ignore the pictures from horror movies that her mind was trying to throw up at her.  
  
"I don't know, what ever I can catch, which might be a little hard with all the racket you're making alerting every creature out in this forest."  
  
"Sorry," she grumbled. She was walking as quietly as she knew how.  
  
"Can you believe it though? She's pregnant," Darien said with an abrupt topic change. He was of course talking about Chelsea. They had done a spell to find out if she was or not and she was indeed carrying a child.  
  
"It's hard," she agreed.  
  
"I wonder when they'll be leaving."  
  
"Huh?" Bonnie asked, startled.  
  
"They'll leave. I don't think Chelsea would be any good in a fight if she's pregnant, and most pregnant women see doctors, which we don't have. And Jeffery's going to go if she does."  
  
"I guess you're right. I wonder whose going to take their place?" Bonnie said as the new thought occurred to her.  
  
"I don't know. I think everyone that wanted to do this already volunteered."  
  
"I hope who ever it is easy enough to live with."  
  
"I hope it's another guy with out a soulmate. I would kill to get a new room mate."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Nick's going to drive me insane. He's too, dreary," he said trying to come up with the right word. "He likes to be off on his own too. The lone ranger," he said with a laugh.  
  
"It can't be too bad. Is there anything he does that really bothers you?"  
  
"No. It's just him. He's jealous and."  
  
"Jealous? Of what?" Bonnie cut in ungraciously.  
  
"I don't know. Sometimes I just sense it in his mind. He's not really happy either. Like he's mad about something he did."  
  
"Since when do you analyze people?" Bonnie asked with a laugh.  
  
"Since what I can sense from his mind keeps me awake until he goes to sleep. I have nothing else to do but stare at the ceiling."  
  
"I doubt you should be looking into his mind. I think he would kill you, Wild Power or not."  
  
"I don't look into his mind though I've been tempted to. He broadcasts his feelings if he's not paying attention. If I were to look I'd be able to tell you what was causing the feelings. I could also find out if he likes you," he said with a wicked grin.  
  
"He doesn't," Bonnie said flatly.  
  
"What makes you so sure?" Darien asked surprised at the bitterness in her tone.  
  
"I asked him out and he said no," she told him. He got the feeling Nick had done more then say no but he knew Bonnie wasn't going to elaborate and he didn't press it.  
  
"Shh," Darien said as he motioned for her to be still. Trying not to make a sound Bonnie looked around and saw there was a dear not too far off. Darien went towards it not making any sound.  
  
The deer looked up as if some sixth sense had alerted it to danger. Bonnie made a face as a familiar sensation began.  
  
/You had better hurry up,/ she warned Darien. /I think I'm going to sneeze./  
  
/Don't,/ he said as he approached the deer as quickly as possible. The deer started walking in the opposite direction when Bonnie sneezed violently. She couldn't help it. The deer bolted.  
  
/Sorry,/ she gasped to Darien. He was running after the deer and Bonnie hurried after him. She knew if Rashel found out he had run off on her she as dead. After a while Darien quit running and waited for Bonnie to catch up.  
  
"I'm so sorry," she repeated. She didn't like the hungry predatory look in his eyes, it made her heart beat speed up.  
  
"It's ok," he said after a second. He realized Bonnie was scared of him and smoothed his features immediately. "You didn't do it on purpose."  
  
Bonnie couldn't help but feel guilty. She had cost him his dinner and she knew that he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning and already the sun was starting to set. Coming to a decision she got his attention.  
  
"Here, you can feed from me."  
  
"What?" he yelped. He couldn't have heard her right.  
  
"Feed from me. It's only right, I scared off your dinner."  
  
"I can hunt something else," he said giving her a weird look. 


	12. Lost and Found

Part 12  
  
Raven stood in front of the people gathered in her living room. I'm not going to kid you, this'll be dangerous, but we have to try and stop Shale from starting the wars early. Circle Daybreak needs all the time possible to find the fourth and I doubt they're going to do it tonight so we had better do this as quick as possible.  
  
It was a week after Raven had been released from the hospital. She'd have gone to finish off Shale as soon as she had gotten out but no one would let her. The team had refused to do anything until she was completely better.  
  
"Are you sure you feel ok?" Honey asked. The team still wasn't sure they should do it yet but they knew they couldn't wait forever. Besides, Raven had threatened to take Shale on her own if they waited any longer.  
  
"I'm fine," Raven said tired of the question. "Come on lets go." Everyone got up and Damon put his arm around Raven's waist. He wasn't part of the team but Raven had been forced to allow him to accompany them on this one mission. That was probably the only reason they were even going, Raven mussed. They all knew Damon would make sure nothing would happen to her.  
  
They got out of the cars a block away before getting out to walk. Raven cautiously opened the front door to Shale's place a crack.  
  
Raven pressed her back against the wall as she peered through the open door. She nodded for the others to go ahead and go through. They were through holding their weapons, ready for anything.  
  
Damon didn't pass through the door when he came to it. He placed one of his hands on the small of Raven's back and put a small amount of pressure on it so Raven would know what he wanted.  
  
/Damon, no, you go through. I'll take your back. Don't worry I'm fine,/ she told him silently in a reprimanding way. He bared his teeth in what could have passed as a grin and ducked through the door. Raven followed him shaking her head slightly.  
  
"This end is clear," Honey said softly, just loud enough for the team to hear her. "Either they checked out or they're in the other end."  
  
"They're hear somewhere. Maybe up stairs. But I know they're here," Raven said. "You three, head up the stairs when we come to them. The rest of you follow me," Raven said gesturing to Honey, Nala and Ash.  
  
Raven turned around and silently but swiftly headed back to the hallway they had just come from. She paused briefly while the three ascended the stairs. There wasn't a sign of trouble so the remaining group continued on.  
  
Raven poked her head in one door while Quinn looked into the one directly opposite of her. Raven went into the room to look around it better. She got to her knees and peered under the bed and jammed a stake into the back of the closet as she moved the clothes around determining there wasn't anyone in there.  
  
Quinn was doing the same as he checked out the other room. He hadn't noticed that there was enough space for a person to be hiding in behind a large dresser. He let out a muffled yelp of surprise as a hand shot out and grabbed him.  
  
Quinn was about to break free from the person's grasp when he felt a sharp object digging into his back. He quit moving immediately, full aware of the overwhelmingly good chances that thing was a stake.  
  
Both Quinn and his assailant were facing away from the door when Jeffery came in and grabbed the person's hand holding the stake.  
  
She let out a gasp of pain as Jeffery tightened his hold, causing her to drop the stake. It fell with a clatter to the wooden floor.  
  
"Thanks man," Quinn said as he looked scornfully at the stake the witch had dropped. "That's a nasty little thing there. Don't you know somebody could get hurt if you keep playing with it?" Quinn asked in a mock-lecturing tone.  
  
"Where are the others?" Jeffery asked the witch.  
  
"I don't know," she said in a voice half strangled with anger.  
  
"Where is Shale hiding?" Raven asked as she and Damon came into the room.  
  
"He is not hiding," the witch snapped.  
  
"Then where is he?"  
  
"Lying in wait for the perfect moment to strike." The witch hissed as she started to try and tug her wrist from Jeffery's grip. He didn't even bother to hold on tighter. He didn't need to.  
  
"If you don't tell us then you're no use to us," Raven said with the threat intent in her voice. "You want to be useful, don't you?"  
  
"You wouldn't hurt me, you Daybreakers are to full of morals and values," she told them, sounding almost as if she were pleading at the end.  
  
"Oh wouldn't we, sweets?" Raven asked voice full of menace. The girl let out a sort of groan.  
  
"What do you want to know?" she said pathetically after a minute.  
  
"What's your name?" Raven asked.  
  
"Chelsea. Chelsea Abforth," the witch whispered.  
  
"Chelsea, tell me where he's hiding," Raven asked sweetly.  
  
"He- he's in the attic. A bunch of them are in the rooms right before the attic stairs," Chelsea told them.  
  
"How do I know you aren't lying to me, Chelsea?"  
  
"I'm not, it's the honest truth. The only other place he could be is in the basement," Chelsea said, her voice earnest.  
  
/Holly, wait where you are. Trouble is up ahead. We'll be there in a moment,/ Raven told the vampire girl.  
  
/Will do,/ Holly said in acknowledgment. Raven nodded shortly to Quinn who brushed his mind against Chelsea's. She would have fallen in a heap on the floor but Jeffery was still holding her. The shifter lay the girl on the bed, resisting the urge to kiss her cheek before following the others out of the room.  
  
He felt bad at leaving his soulmate just lying there, but he had to settle for promising himself to come back for her later. He wondered slightly why there hadn't been this whole electric jolt and pink haze everyone always talked about. But everyone was different.  
  
Raven gestured for the others to follow silently and swiftly. She placed her hand on the knob lightly and waited for Quinn to get the door opposite of her. They quietly opened the doors and the team split up and filed into the room prepared to fight.  
  
Raven's room was empty, though the bed sheet's looked as if they had been slept in recently. Raven guessed it was a guy's room because there was a picture of a pretty girl lying on the bed stand.  
  
Quinn on the other hand very nearly ran smack into Holly who was turned around halfway as she walked towards the door.  
  
"I was wondering where you guys had gotten too," Holly said with an impish grin.  
  
The two groups met up in the hallway and went up too the last two doors opposite of each other. This time it was Holly and Jeffery who were the first to enter the two rooms. To their surprise they too were empty besides a rumpled bed in each.  
  
Raven shrugged and pushed open the very last door the lay between the two they had just checked out. She crept up the attic as quietly as she could, fearing that there might be a squeaky bored that would give her away.  
  
Nothing did but as she paused to wait for the others to follow up the stairs a were-wolf jumped into view and launched himself at Raven. She jumped into the attack, causing them to go rolling out of the doorway, so the other could get in easier.  
  
Abandoning caution the team began to run up the stairs and the real fight began.  
  
Damon was the last one up the stairs and he jumped into the tangle immediately and pulled the stake away from some one who was about to spear Holly. He whirled around as his mind took in the scene before really processing it. He lunged and staked a blond vampire and grimaced as blood spurted all over him.  
  
Raven jumped over the body Damon had just staked as it nearly collided with her shins. Damon steadied her for a second then swiped one of her stakes.  
  
/Thanks,/ he said as he threw it and it sunk deeply into the vampire lunging at them.  
  
/Uh, keep it,/ she said. The vampire feel short of the pair and his face was contorted in a cross between a snarl and a grimace of pain. Then he began to mummify, his hands stilling as he clawed at his chest.  
  
/Neat trick,/ Ash said as he stepped over the body and connected his fist against a 'wolfs jaw.  
  
"Thanks," Damon said aloud. He turned to face where Raven had been standing a minute ago, but she wasn't there anymore. Instead she was behind him pinning a 'wolf against the wall, beating her senseless.  
  
Then just as Damon's gaze found Raven's it found the floor as he was pinned to it. Directly above him was a wolf. He felt the hot breath on him as the beast panted, clawing at his back before the yellowed teeth started snapping at Damon's neck. Damon managed to roll over and was keeping the snapping jaws at bay from his neck. He worked a leg up and kicked the dumb beast off of him.  
  
Damon snarled and threw himself at the wolf, burying his teeth in the thick pelt. The wolf gave a little half strangled yelp of pain and began his body began spasm wildly as Damon ripped it's throat out. Then the wolf fell limp as Damon pulled his head back.  
  
Damon licked the blood from around his lips walked towards another beast.  
  
Raven let the sagging body in front of her fall to the floor as she stepped away from it.  
  
"Where's Shale," Raven asked suddenly, realizing she hadn't seen him at all. Most of the Day-breakers were unoccupied as they were winning the fight and nearly every man but there own was out for the count.  
  
When the shifter struggling in Jeffrey's chokehold slumped, signaling he had passed out everyone spread out, combing the attic for Shale. There weren't many places he could hide, but of them all a closet was the most obvious.  
  
Raven opened the door, forgetting all caution. A closet was such a ridiculous spot she didn't think even Shale would hid there. It turned out the closet was a small room, with a closet of it's own.   
  
Raven flung that door open and yelled in surprise as Shale brought his arms down, trying to put the stake in Raven's heart. Raven was saved by pure instinct. As the stake whipped through the air she stepped back and turned to the right so the stake was pushed into her left shoulder.  
  
Raven screamed in pain as the stake ripped through where she had been shot. She bit her lip as she pulled the stake out and attempted to stab Shale with it. He avoided it easily but as he stepped back laughing Raven's pain Damon grabbed Shale's head.  
  
He snapped Shale's neck with ease then took the stake from Raven's shaking hand and slammed it through Shale's forehead. His body jolted once then lay still.   
  
Raven used the wall for support as she stood up and had to clutch at it as waves of pain shook her, nearly causing her to fall. Damon was at her side instantly and her picked her up, careful of her shoulder, despite her feeble protests.  
  
As Damon turned around to exit the small room Raven saw her team standing in the doorway watching her worriedly.  
  
"Y'all did good," she said in a soft slur. She had to struggle to keep her eyes open. Darkness kept lapping at her consciousness, trying to pull her in, which was making it really it really had for her to focus on anything.  
  
She half saw everyone smile in relieve knowing she wasn't dead, and get out of Damon's way so he could get her to a hospital so she could be healed. Quinn and Honey went down the stairs in front of the pair to make sure that there wouldn't be any nasty surprises waiting for them.  
  
/Go get your soulmate,/ Raven whispered mentally to Jeffery. She had seen the look on the shifter's face and recognized it as one belonging to the joy and awe of the soulmate link. Then she lay her head on Damon's shoulder as she sunk into a black bliss that knew no pain. 


	13. Lost and Found

Part 13  
Damon sat in the back seat cradling Raven in his arms. She was breathing shallowly and was still losing a good amount of blood despite the towel pressed firmly over the wound. Honey sat twisted in the front seat peering anxiously at her boss.  
  
Quinn in the driver's seat looked relaxed unless you noticed how tightly his knuckles gripped the steering wheel.  
  
"Hold tight," Quinn bit out as they took the sharp turn without slowing. Damon tensed against the side of the car so Raven wouldn't shift. Her face was losing a lot more color then was healthy even for a vampire. His hand that was holding the towel to her shoulder was close enough to feel the heat coming off her face.   
  
She was burning up with a fever that Damon wouldn't have thought was possible for her to catch. He figured it must have been the witch half of her, because obviously the vampire bit wasn't helping at all. Which was probably good considering.  
  
Quinn finally slammed to a stop in front of the emergency entrance after what had seemed like hours. Damon slid out of the car door that Honey opened up for him. He carried Raven through the doors and demanded the nurse at the station get a doctor.  
  
"If you lye her on here we'll take care of her, Mr. Salvatore," said the nurse who remembered the pair from last week. "Would you mind telling me what happened?"   
  
"Someone stabbed her with a piece of wood," he said shortly as he carefully lay Raven on the gurney. He lightly brushed his knuckle up against Raven's pale, burning cheek before stepping out of the way.  
  
"And I thought I told you to have her tone down things a bit," said the doctor as she led Raven into one of the rooms so they could work on her. Quinn came in after moving the car and he and Honey led Damon to the waiting room.  
  
"Damon, I'm sure she'll be alright. She's always managed to bounce back before and she's had just about everything you can imagine thrown at her," Honey said trying to offer some words of comfort.  
  
Damon didn't answer and buried his face in his hands, not crying but he felt as though his soul was breaking.  
  
"You know it wasn't your fault and I'm willing to bet she's up and about in a week," Quinn said going straight to the heart of what was going through Damon's frantic mind. Quinn reached over and squeezed Damon's shoulder briefly. Then Quinn and Honey sat over in the far corner of the room talking in low voices.  
  
What Quinn had said calmed Damon down somewhat and now he was just sinking into a horrified, stunned stupor. Thoughts of what would happen if it didn't all turn out perfect paraded through his mind, demanding attention.  
  
After half an hour Damon just sort of curled up in his mind, turning from everything. He sat up a little and rubbed under his eyes. They were so dry it burned. He cupped his fist in one hand then rested his chin on it, heaving a sigh. He stared blankly out the window, but he never saw a thing through it.  
  
@~&~  
  
Hours later the door to the small room opened and the petite doctor entered. Damon looked up but didn't stand. Honey and Quinn walked over though.  
  
"Raven is still alive and we've done all we can for her, but there is no way to know if she'll live through the night. Or if she'll even make it after that. To be completely honest the chances don't look good."  
  
Damon's eyes dropped to the floor and he had to force them not to fill with tears.  
  
"You can go into her room and see her," the witch said. Damon nodded and stood to follow the doctor. Quinn was stunned at the sudden change in Damon. When he had first met the Italian he had seen a person whose presence demanded respect and he seemed to occupy all the space in the room. Now that was all gone. An empty shell that strained to look normal was what remained. It was as if Damon's soul was dying.  
  
Suddenly Quinn found himself praying that Raven would live. Not just so he wouldn't lose a close friend but so Damon wouldn't die out completely. Quinn hadn't said the prayers he realized he was muttering under his breath since he had been human.  
  
Honey gave him a look, but he knew she understood. She nodded her head to the door and they headed to a payphone to spread the news. Honey called Raven's house and talked to Mr. Johnson while Quinn called one of the rooms at the hotel where the team was staying.  
  
Mr. Johnson took the news in stride and said he was going down to the hospital. Honey couldn't tell him no and though it would probably be a good thing in any case. The team was stunned even though they had known it was a possibility. They were all for going right down to the hospital too but Quinn told them they had to stay at the hotel.  
  
Quinn put a comforting arm around Honey's waist and they went to the car to join up with the team and maybe try and get some sleep.  
  
@~&~  
Damon pulled one of the chairs to the side of Raven's bed. For a while he just sat there and watched her. A heart monitor was hooked up to her and in made Damon uneasy. As if to point out just how vulnerable Raven was.  
  
She looked it too. Her jaw was clenched in pain but her lips were slightly parted and Damon could hear her ragged gasps of breath. Her face was strained and it pained Damon to look at her but he couldn't turn away.  
  
"You've gotten your self in a bit of a mess this time, haven't you," Damon said quietly. Of course Raven didn't answer, but talking calmed him down a little bit.  
  
"You had better pull through baby. You're going to disappoint a lot of people if you don't. Your family, your team. They'll all miss you. I'm going to miss you. I don't know what I'll do if you don't make it."  
  
Damon would have gone on, but he heard footsteps approaching. He stood up ready to either greet or jump who ever it was. Mr. Johnson opened the door slowly, as if to make sure Damon knew someone was entering.  
  
"What did the doctor say?" Mary demanded as she fell to her knees on the side of the bed and stroked hair from Raven's face.  
  
"They don't know if she'll make it," he answered in a tight voice.  
  
"My poor baby!" Mrs. Johnson fairly wailed throwing her self down in Damon's abandoned chair and grasping Raven's hand.  
  
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Mr. Johnson said a little too loudly. You didn't have to know him to see the apparent worry in his eyes.  
  
Damon nodded his head then walked out of the room. In had to get some space. He needed to clear his head so he could think. Raven would be fine with her family there. As he got in the cover of darkness he shifted and flew off.  
  
Emotions weren't something the bird knew or could understand so Damon was washed of most his pain and sorrow. He flew over to the woods and began to focus all his attention of finding prey. After a few minutes he came upon a deer. He landed softly and went back to his human form and took a few steps.   
  
Some dry leaves crackled under his boots and the deer shot off. Damon ran after it and was upon it in seconds. He never once realized he hadn't even tried, or wanted to, find a human to feed on. He knew subconsciously that any girl he touched would immediately turn his thoughts to Raven. He wouldn't be able to feed with that on his mind.   
  
Damon walked back to the hospital after scrubbing the blood from his lips with the back of his hand. The walk cleared his head and he began to think about what needed to be done. He called Thierry from a street corner phone booth.  
  
Thierry was grateful that Raven had carried out the mission but disturbed that she had been hurt so badly. Thierry told Damon to tell Raven that he hoped she back on her feet in no time. Damon had told Thierry Raven was unconscious but Thierry just said he knew.  
  
He went to Raven's house and let himself in. He went up to Raven's room and picked up the book of poetry Raven had read to him not a week ago. He could hardly get over that she was back in the hospital so soon. And hurt so badly.  
  
He grabbed a book with a lock on it. It was Raven 's diary and Damon knew she would want it when she woke. He consoled himself with thoughts of what he and Raven would do when she woke up. It kept the pain at bay. 


	14. Lost and Found

Part 14  
  
Damon sat next to Raven's bed and lay her cool hand against his cheek. Rubbing his thumb against her palm he began to talk to her in a quiet voice.  
  
"I miss you baby. We're all worried about you. You're getting popular you know. With all the visitors I mean. Quinn and Honey are going to let your team come by tomorrow. They're going to trickle in by pairs.  
  
"They're all proud of you. Thierry called today to say that Shale's gang disbanded soon after he died. You did it. You saved the world. For a few months at least." Damon swallowed and paused for a moment.  
  
"Raven, honey, come back to me. You have to. I'm nothing without you. I can't live without you sweetheart. I don't know if you can hear me or not but you have to live," Damon said, his voice cracking a few times.  
  
He tried to blink back the tears that threatened but a few managed to slip down his cheeks. He scrubbed them hurriedly and jammed his fists in his pockets. He paced the room a few times before sinking back into the chair.  
  
Damon couldn't even remember the last time he had cried. He didn't have a reason to start up yet and he didn't want to. For the next few hours Damon stared at Raven mournfully. Around 5 in the morning a nurse came in to check up on Raven.  
  
"Don't you ever go home? It's sweet and all but you need to get some rest young man," asked the pump woman as she took Raven's blood pressure.  
  
"Home is where the heart is," Damon said to himself, just loud enough that the woman heard. "And Raven has my heart."  
  
The nurse gave a sad smile that Damon couldn't see and shook her head slightly. She didn't think Raven would last longer then a week. She had been surprised to find Raven still alive. After a few moments she left, shutting the door behind her. Damon was glad she had because he had heard what she was thinking and it took him a few minutes to blank his face of the torture his emotions were putting him through.  
  
None of the staff at the hospital had any reason to believe Raven would live and few even wanted to dare to hope. Damon heaved a sigh and rested his chin on one of his hands. Soon he feel asleep. He was still half asleep when the door opened and some people came in.  
  
"We should let him sleep," a hushed, feminine voice said. "He's been through so much."  
  
"That can't be comfortable," said another voice that sounded familiar. "We should wake him up and take him to the hotel."  
  
Damon finally forced his heavy eyes open and saw it was Honey and Quinn. Raven was safe then so he didn't have to get up. Quinn noticed Damon was awake almost immediately.  
  
"Come to the hotel with us," he asked Damon.  
  
"I can't leave her," he said in a stubborn tone.  
  
"You're going to have to sometime. Come on, you can get some good sleep in a sort of comfortable bed and then you can go out and feed. We can have someone call the second anything happens."  
  
"We'll take you with us whether you want to go or not, so just agree and come on," Honey said firmly as Damon opened his mouth to protest.  
  
"Fine I'll go. In a few minutes." Honey nodded and she and Quinn went out of wait for him.  
  
"Baby, I'm going to go with Quinn and Honey to get some sleep. You can feel free to get better while I'm gone. I want to get a call hearing you've woken up and are hungry or something, ok. Goodbye," he said leaning over her. He kissed her check tenderly.  
  
Honey went in the room to sit with Raven and Quinn led Damon to the car. Damon could barely keep his eyes open as Quinn drove.  
  
Quinn opened one of the numbered doors and gestured to one of the beds.  
  
"Take your pick. I'll make sure no one disturbs you."  
  
"Thanks man," Damon said sitting on a corner of one of the beds and kicking off his shoes while Quinn left the room. Damon crawled under the covers and was asleep in mere seconds.  
  
Damon woke up well after noon. He felt a familiar itching in his upper jaw so he went of the room to find some one to feed off of.  
  
"You're finally awake," Jeffery said from his spot on the floor opposite to Damon's door. "Here, take this while your out incase Raven wakes up while your busy." Jeffery held out a cell phone to all Damon. Damon took it and slid it into his back pocket with a nod of thanks.  
  
Damon walked down the street and found a pretty girl about 19 who wanted to know if Damon needed to be shown around town. She hadn't seen him around at any of the hangouts and figured he wasn't from around.  
  
Damon smiled to himself and accepted her offer. She took him to a place where they could get to know each other better in privacy. Damon was walking to the hospital half an hour later.  
  
To his disappointment he found that Raven hadn't woken yet. The gang had already been by so they left Damon and Raven alone. A few of Raven's friends stopped by throughout the afternoon and left a card or flowers or something. None stayed to long. No one really wanted to stay in a place where Damon's infinite sadness seemed to fill the room more then the heady scent of all the flowers.  
  
In the evening Damon thought the visitors would be gone for the day but he was expecting the Johnson's to stop by. He didn't look up when the door opened, expecting it to be them. Some one cleared their throat and he realized it wasn't.  
  
Looking up he found Lord Thierry, Aradia and some human girl with a birthmark that swept one check and who had old eyes. After a minute he realized she must be Lady Hannah. He stood but didn't say anything.  
  
"Hello," Thierry said after a moment. "You must be Damon." Damon nodded as he paused. "I'm sorry that Raven was hurt."  
  
"Why are you here?" Damon asked bluntly. "You've already said everything over the phone. Or did you want to come see Raven in person before she died so you'd look like a better person?"  
  
Thierry knew that Damon was just saying it because he was in pain and sick of everyone expecting her to die, so he refused to let himself get mad.  
  
"We came because we're Raven's friends," Hannah said soothingly before Thierry could respond. "Also Aradia wants to see something."  
  
"You don't need to worry, I won't harm her. I may be able to help. If you could leave for a while?" Aradia said, sensing Damon's wariness. Damon muttered a short yes and followed Thierry and Hannah out of the room reluctantly.  
  
Thierry talked to Damon for a few minutes but Damon didn't really hear a thing. He half jumped when Quinn clapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Come on, I'll buy you a drink." They went to a night world bar that wasn't to far from the hospital. They ordered two Jack Daniels and sat at a booth. They didn't talk too much and sat for a while drinking. Quinn more of nursed his bottle but Damon drank a few more bottles from his own pocket.  
  
"You don't think she'll live, do you?" Damon asked suddenly. Quinn was startled by the question and didn't answer for a moment.  
  
"I hope she does. She's lasted this long so she'll probably pull through. And Aradia might be able to help too." Damon didn't seem to like that answer very much as he frowned at his bottle. "She'll be fine," Quinn said after watching him a minute. Damon shrugged listlessly.  
  
"I hope so."  
  
"Do you want to head back?" Quinn said a bit later. The silence was starting to get to him. Damon shrugged again but stood to follow when Quinn made movements of getting up. 


	15. Lost and Found

Part 15  
  
Damon walked impatiently down the corridors of the hospital. He wanted to see if the Maiden had helped his Raven. Damon reached for the door handle but it gave way before his hand. Hannah came out guiding Aradia.  
  
"Well," he demanded.  
  
"She's resting," Aradia said.  
  
"That's all she's been doing for the past week," he snapped, brushing past him and into the room. Hannah shook her head sadly and went with Thierry and Aradia back to their hotel.  
  
Damon stared at Raven for awhile. She looked so much better. She wasn't half as pale and she was breathing peacefully. One could believe she really was only sleeping. He picked up one of her hands and squeezed it slightly and sank to his knees suddenly.  
  
Raven looked at him under half closed lids wondering why he was kneeling on the floor like that.  
  
"Raven," he managed to choke out.  
  
/What,/ she asked telepathically.  
  
/You're awake!/ he cried to her silently, over joyed. /How do you feel?/  
  
/Tired,/ told him in a weak mental voice.   
  
/Go back to sleep then,/ he ordered tenderly. /I'm sorry I woke you./ He didn't really want her to go back to sleep. It had been so hard watching her do nothing else for a week. But, he thought with a smile, he could always wake her up if he began to think she had never woken up before. That though got him through the night. Several different times he felt like shaking her awake just to make sure, but he knew if he did she wouldn't get enough rest to get healthy as quickly as she would otherwise.  
  
The next morning the Johnson's arrived. Since Damon had forgotten to call them Quinn had done so for him. They knew Raven had needed to sleep so they hadn't come running last night but they hadn't been able to stay away any longer.   
  
"Did she say anything when she woke up last night?" Mrs. Johnson demanded staring fondly at her daughter.  
  
"Just that she was tired," he said in a voice that seemed lighter then it had been for the last week.  
  
"Well that kind of figures," Mary said. Raven had been known to keep any sort of audience waiting just so they would become impatient and more excited or anxious when she finally got there.  
  
"And your point is?" asked a quiet voice. The four jumped because they hadn't realized Raven was awake and had been listening. "Surprised I'm up? Why, how did you expect me to continue to sleep with you guys making all that racket?" she asked playful as she opened her eyes.  
  
"If you think we were loud you're in for a real treat later," Damon teased.  
  
"Don't do that!" Mary admonished.  
  
"Sorry," Raven said shrugging and trying to look abashed. It didn't come off to well but nobody really cared.  
  
"How are you feeling baby?" Mrs. Johnson asked as she put a hand on Raven's forehead.  
  
"Pretty good considering," she replied lifting her mother's hand from her. "I think the doctors have it covered. Have you asked when I can get out yet?" Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Johnson exchanged looks. Before they could say anything Damon spoke up.  
  
"Raven, they thought you were dead for sure, do you really think you're just going to walk out whenever you want. You're probably going to have to stay here for a week or more," he said a little angry. He just couldn't see what she had against hospitals that was so bad she had to leave when she had just nearly died.  
  
Raven didn't look at all happy with this news.  
  
"And why not, I could probably get better bed rest at home then it this, place," she said glaring at him.  
  
"Baby the doctors are going to want to keep you here where they can watch you and help you get better. Here is where they have the proper facilities and means with which to heal you," Mrs. Johnson said sounding worried. They had known Raven had a problem with hospitals but they hadn't thought it was this bad.  
  
"You're right," she admitted grudgingly.  
  
"What's your problem with hospitals anyway?" Mary demanded, asking what everyone wanted to know.  
  
"I can feel people's pain. Not physically, it feels like I should hurt all over and in my head is a pain that feels kind of like a memory, but is still real and in the present," she said softly hugging her elbows to herself tightly.  
  
The others didn't respond for a minute, they hadn't been expecting anything like that for an answer. Damon lent over and kissed the top of her head reassuringly.  
  
"We'll try and keep your mind on other things. It might help a little." The others immediately started nodding saying yes, they'd help out the best they could.  
  
"Thanks," Raven said with a small smile before yawning.  
  
"Why don't you get some sleep. I'll go to McDonald's and pick up some stuff for everyone. That way we can all have some semi-decent food in out systems and some one will be here when you wake up. What do you want Raven?" Mr. Johnson asked. The suggestion sounded good to everyone and soon Mr. Johnson left to get the food, with Damon along to help carry everything. 


	16. Lost and Found

Part 16  
  
"Why do you think it is she can feel all that stuff? Her witch heritage?" Damon asked as Mr. Johnson drove away from the hospital.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe it's all in her head. She never once complained or tried to get away when she was visiting someone in the hospital. She even volunteered there once when she was younger. She only seems to be affected when she is placed in the hospital," Mr. Johnson mussed. It all seemed very strange to both men and they remained silent for a few minutes.  
  
"Maybe it's a memory, like she said. Something she tried to forget but comes back when she's in the hospital," Damon suggested. The effect the thought had on Mr. Johnson was tremendous. He sat up stiffly and his eyes widened. Damon's sharp senses told him his pulse had speed up.  
  
"When she was four she was kidnapped. When we found her she was on the brink of death. She had been beaten brutally and a cult of people had been going to sacrifice her. When they heard the police sirens they ran off and left her for dead or to bleed to death."  
  
"What idiots would sacrifice a child?" Damon asked horrified. Children were one of his very few weak spots.  
  
"They were trying to prove themselves as witches and call on some demon to possess them or something. The police caught eleven of the twelve people and none of them knew exactly what they were going to do. It seems the leader was the only one who knew and he stayed missing."  
  
"He had better stay hidden if he knows what's good for him," Damon growled. He was going to say more but he bit his tongue as a voice crackled near them.  
  
"Welcome to *shreeeeck*. What *Schiik* do for you today *shheckc?"  
  
Damon waited impatiently for the woman to hurry up and take Mr. Johnson's order.  
  
"Does Raven have any clue what happened to her?" Damon demanded after they collected the food.  
  
"She was pretty disorientated when she woke up and found herself in the hospital. She didn't remember any details; she could barely sketch out what had happened to her the week she was missing. We told her all we knew about it. I guess she just forgot. We never really talked about it after a while."  
  
"I can't believe that happened to her," Damon said shaking his head in shock. "Are you going to tell her about it?"  
  
"You can if you need to. It was a hard time for us all, especially Raven. I don't really want to dredge up old memories more then I have to." Damon nodded to show he understood. He didn't say anything else for the rest of the trip back; he was too deep in thought.  
  
When they entered Raven's room bearing the food he forced a smile, he didn't want Raven think he was upset. He didn't need to have worried, because she was still asleep, but he decided to keep up the façade in front of her family as well. The story had really disturbed him.  
  
They joked around and handed out the food, laughing. Raven woke up not soon after, feeling slightly restless. She was glad to see her food wasn't cold.  
  
/So what's wrong?/ she asked Damon immediately.   
  
/Huh?/ he asked startled. He hadn't thought she'd have noticed, or seen through his front, but she had, in a matter of seconds.  
  
/What's wrong?/ she repeated. /I can tell you're worried about something./  
  
/It's nothing,/ he lied. /I'll tell you when we're alone. Eat up./ he said. 'I'll tell you when I make something up,' he added to himself. He mentally kicked himself wondering if Raven had read his thoughts, but it didn't seem that she had. He really didn't know what he was going to do.  
  
Could he tell her? Damon knew if he did it would hurt her and he really didn't want that, but he also thought that she might like to know. He wondered if it was ethical to keep something of this magnitude from her, especially since he knew no one else was going to come forward and volunteer the information.  
  
He had to bite down on a laugh when he realized what he was thinking. He had changed so much since meeting Raven. When in his life had he ever cared about ethics or morals? He realized with a start that they were talking about who would stay with Raven.  
  
"I can do it tonight," Mrs. Johnson said. "I don't have work tomorrow and I'm sure Damon would appreciate the chance to get some good sleep."  
  
"Thank you," he murmured. He didn't mention that he had a perfectly decent couple of hours of sleep when Honey and Quinn had lent him one of their hotel rooms.  
  
"I'll come over right after school," Mary promised. "I can relieve Mom of duty and she can go shopping, which she's been putting off," Mary teased. Mrs. Johnson hadn't let Mary or herself out of the house for the past few days as they waited for the fated phone call. Mr. Johnson was there as often as he could, and hadn't bother with the shopping either.  
  
Mary had gotten the oddest feeling that they were relieving some old terror. That they had been waiting to see if someone would live or die, or something else in a similar sort of situation, She had no clue how right she had been, because she too had forgotten.  
  
Mary had forgotten the tortured nights awake with the baby sitter way past her bed time as they anxiously awaited her parents to come home. When Raven had been missing her parents had gone out every night after work.  
  
The only thing they could do was search, and they couldn't just sit back and watch. So after a hurried dinner, sometimes even having the baby sitter fix something, they had rushed out to cover some new territory.  
  
Mary smiled slightly to herself as she remember how happy they all had been to get the phone call. It had rung once and Mrs. Johnson had answered with baited breath, daring to hope. She had said hello and listened to something, before dropping the phone and burying her face in her hands.   
  
Mr. Johnson had snatched up the phone and demanded to know what had happened.  
  
"She woke up," Quinn had told him. The simple phrase that had meant almost everything to the Johnson's. Mary had clapped her hands, shrieking for joy, before being whirled around by her over joyed father. When she was finally set down he had scooped up Mrs. Johnson and kissed her. Mrs. Johnson had then wept tears of pure joy into her husband's sweater.  
  
Mary had forgotten all about her parents after that, calling everybody that she could think of to spread the happy news. Raven was awake!  
  
"Did I miss anything good on the TV while I was out? It's such a rare occurrence that I thought I should ask," Raven said suddenly.  
  
"You didn't miss a thing," Mary assured her through the laughter that filled the room. 


	17. Lost and Found

Part 17  
  
Damon was going to be with Raven at night they decided, and then he could choose to stay during the day, when everyone else would take turns. Since school was out for the week, because of Spring Break, Mary would be there during the day. Mrs. Johnson would go home and fix dinner while Mr. Johnson went to the hospital. After dinner Mr. Mrs. Johnson would go and stay at the hospital for a while.  
  
Raven was perfectly fine with the arrangement, but she threw a fit when he found out Damon was planning only to leave to feed.  
  
"Get out!" she yelled at him, mentally though, so not to disturb the other patients.  
  
"You get some sleep." She hadn't done much of the since she had woken up.  
  
"It won't kill me if I don't sleep. Go away," she said crossing her arms stubbornly.  
  
"Don't you love me anymore," he asked, sounding dejected.  
  
"You know I do," she said turning to face him. When she saw he was smiling she threw her pillow at him.  
  
"Out now!" She ordered.  
  
"What are you two doing," Mary asked skeptically as she watched them fight. They were acting completely crazy; well it seemed that way when you couldn't hear them.  
  
"He won't leave," Raven said  
  
"Is that all?" Mary asked, her eyebrows disappearing beneath her bangs.  
  
"He's going stir crazy and he's taking it out on me."  
  
"You're the one who's stir crazy. Not to mention crabby," Damon said automatically.  
  
"Whatever," she said not paying attention to him. Then she thought of something that should get him moving. "You leave now or I'm going to," she threatened. Damon looked thoughtful for a minute, not answering.  
  
Then he got out of his chair and sat on her before she could move,  
  
"Get off!"  
  
"Now you're not going anywhere," he told her calmly, trying not to laugh. Mary had doubled over from laughing so hard.  
  
"Get off me now." Damon should have listened. Her tone was deadly viscous, and when he only shifted to get more comfortable she growled in the back of her throat. After a moment Damon sniffed the air.  
  
"Is something burning?" he asked before jumping up with a yelp. He beat at his leg and in a minute put out the fire Raven had started. Mary had fallen to the floor and tears were rolling down her face. She was finding it hard to breathe but she managed to gasp out something.  
  
"You had better leave before she very well stakes you."  
  
"What's this commotion?" asked a nurse. She could hear Raven's yells of anger and Mary's shrieks of laughter across the hall at the nurse's station.  
  
"He won't leave," Raven said tightly, her arms folded across her chest again as she sat.  
  
"Sir, you had better come with me," the nurse said. Her tone and manner told him that no matter what he wasn't staying in that room much longer.  
  
"Good bye Mary," he said in a bitter tone.  
  
"Bye," she said climbing to her feet, using a chair for support.  
  
"I'll see you later," he told Raven silently. She bared her teeth in a smile and stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"What was all that about?" Mary asked when she had completely regained her composure.  
  
"I wanted him to leave for awhile, is all."  
  
"Are you sure."  
  
"Well, he needs to go have some fun."  
  
"What's he going to do? He's going to be in a terrible mood wondering why you chased him off," Mary said logically.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Then why?"  
  
"Did you bring the book I asked for?"  
  
"Yes. What's it got to do with anything."  
  
"Other then it holds my hidden stash of chocolate, it has a stake in it."  
  
"Raven," Mary said in a warning tone. "You are not planning what I think you are."  
  
"Of course I'm not. I'm just going to hide it with me."  
  
"What's it for?"   
  
"To bash him over the head with," she said simply.  
  
"What?" Mary asked incredulously.  
  
"You heard me."  
  
"What ever. You are emmed up Raven." (A/N emmed up is a word my friend Stephanie came up with. It means messed up.)  
  
"I know," she said with a smile. Want some chocolates?" 


	18. Lost and Found

Part 18  
  
Damon walked back in to the hospital at six in the evening, still steaming. He didn't know what was up with Raven, or what she was up to. When he was about to reach her room some one called to him. It was the nurse from before.  
  
"You can't go in there," she told him as he walked over to see what she wanted.  
  
"Why not. Is she okay?" he demanded.  
  
"She's fine. But as you might recall from this morning she doesn't want you in there. We can't have you slowing her recovery by upsetting her, now can we."  
  
"She just wanted me to get out for awhile," he told the woman. He would have influenced her, but knew it would have done no good since she was a witch with thick wards around her mind. He had heard once that when witches were really out of it or unconscious they could lash out with their minds at unexpected moments.  
  
"Now, now young man. If she didn't want you gone she wouldn't have thrown a tantrum like that. I noticed she lit you on fire, doesn't that tell you something?"  
  
"That she wanted me to get off her," he said before realizing his mistake.  
  
"Why were you on her in the first place?" she demanded looking mad. "Did you think that since she was in a hospital she was helpless? I will ask you to leave this hospital only once."  
  
"What?" he asked, not catching what she had meant for a second. "It wasn't like that. She threatened to leave so I sat on her."  
  
"Leave before I have security escort you out."  
  
"Did Raven put you up to this?" he demanded angrily. "Raven!" he yelled down the hall. She was only a few doors down and he knew she would hear. So would most people in the rooms adjacent to hall for that matter.  
  
"Sir, do be quiet. Patients are trying to sleep," she told him.   
  
"Raven!" he yelled again, ignoring the nurse. She gave him a sour look and picked up the telephone.  
  
"Damon, what's going on?" Mr. Johnson asked as he half ran to him.   
  
"She won't let me in," told him casting the nurse a dirty look.  
  
"I'm sorry if he was disturbing you Mr. Johnson. Security will be removing him in a few minutes, so don't worry."  
  
"Security? What for?"  
  
"He was asked to leave your daughter's room earlier and should have known not to come back. Now since he refuses to leave on his own will and is disturbing other patients I called security."  
  
"Did you and Raven get in a fight earlier?" Mr. Johnson asked Damon.  
  
"No, she just wanted me to get out for a bit. Stretch my legs I suppose."  
  
"Nurse, I'm sure he didn't mean any harm. If it's okay with you I'll just take him to Raven's room."  
  
"But sir, he attacked your daughter," the nurse protested. Mr. Johnson looked at Damon questioningly.  
  
"I sat on her and she lit me on fire."  
  
"It'll be fine Nurse."  
  
"I'd like to talk with Raven before I let him in," she said frowning. "Keep him here." Damon threw her an exasperated look as she went into Raven's room.  
  
"Hello Raven, I'm sorry to disturb you but that young man you were with earlier."  
  
"Damon," she interrupted.  
  
"Yes, well he would like to know if it is all right with you to come back in."  
  
"Of course it is. I just wanted him to get out for a while. He shouldn't be stuck in here just because I am."  
  
"You're sure?" she asked skeptically.  
  
"Positive. And he wouldn't have sat on me if he hadn't known I had every intention of carrying out my threat of leaving."  
  
"I'm sorry for troubling you then," she said leaving the room with a dazed look.  
  
Damon went in giving Raven a look.  
  
"Sorry. I didn't know she'd try and keep you out forever. And you didn't help the situation by screaming either."  
  
"If you heard the whole thing why didn't you let her know it was all right sooner?" he asked tightly.  
  
"I'll see you after dinner Raven. Don't kill each other," Mr. Johnson said. The tension in the room was making him feel slightly uncomfortable and he was late leaving as it was.  
  
"I wanted to see how badly you wanted to see me," she offered tentatively. Damon sighed.  
  
"You are impossible," he told her.  
  
"You could just leave," she suggested.  
  
"Not that again," he groaned.  
  
"No, I'm just saying if you don't want to have to put up with my impossibleness, you could just leave." He laughed at that.  
  
"Your impossibleness, huh?"  
  
"You're the one that sat on me," she pointed out.  
  
"You're the one who lit me on fire," he threw back. She winced at that.  
  
"I guess you have a new pair of cutoffs then?" Damon laughed again.  
  
"You know what else is impossible about you?"  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"It's impossible to stay mad at you."  
  
"I know," she said with a smile before he came over and kissed her.  
  
"So why'd you want me to leave?"  
  
"So you'd go out and do something other then sit here and watch me as if it's the only thing you have to do all day."  
  
"But you're so nice to look at," he told her with a smile hinting at his lips. And he kissed her again.   
  
Raven broke the kiss long enough to say, "You're not such a bad piece of work either. 


	19. Lost and Found

Part 19  
  
That night Raven lay awake, waiting for everyone to leave. Finally Mr. and Mrs. Johnson knew they had to leave because of work, so they took Mary with them. Raven didn't allow her self to heave a sigh of relieve.  
  
She wanted to be alone with Damon, but he didn't have to know that just yet. She didn't feel like talking, and that was fine with Damon. He slouched in his chair, staring into space. After a while he didn't even notice when his eyes began to droop.  
  
Raven smiled slightly, but didn't move, lest he should wake up fully. Another fifteen minutes ticked by, his eyes were fully shut. Another fifteen later he was snoring softly. Raven soundlessly reached under the bed and pulled out a smooth, pointy objet.   
  
She weighed the stake in her hand before slipping noiselessly off the bed and tiptoed to stand just to the side of Damon. She held the stake at an angle and so it's point nearly touched the side of his neck and slightly under his jaw. A very vulnerable spot, and deadly if Raven choose to stab the stake upwards.  
  
"Damon, wake up," she said. She would have kicked him, but she didn't want to make him jerk and accidentally stake himself.  
  
"What are you doing out of the bed?" he demanded angrily, not even noticing the stake. She pushed it so there was pressure on his skin.  
  
"I thought I might ask you some questions. I knew you wouldn't answer them otherwise, and I have the feeling I have every right to know."  
  
"Raven, what are you talking about?" he asked staring up into her face, looking like a child who's just been informed that Santa Clause and all the others don't really exist.  
  
"The other night when you went with my dad to get food. He told you something, didn't he? What?"  
  
"Raven, I'm not so sure I should tell you," he said slowly as if to make sure she understood every word of it.  
  
"And why not? I got the feeling that whatever he told you made you worried about me. Otherwise you would have told me already, right?"  
  
"Raven, honey, please put the stake down," he said not answering her questions.  
  
"Damon, darling, no. Tell me what Dad told you." She had no clue what on earth her father had told Damon but through the soulmate link she knew it involved her, and she was fairly positive it might be the key to her empathy.  
  
"Raven, I don't want to tell you."  
  
"Why not?" she asked pushing the stake forward slightly.  
  
"You and I both know that you aren't going to stake me so will you please put that down?" Damon knew Raven wouldn't kill him, but still the wood so dangerous to any of his kind made him feel uncomfortable and slightly nervous. He wondered vaguely if Raven had snapped.  
  
"I'm not above hurting you to find out what I want though," she told him calmly.  
  
"Raven, I don't want to tell you because I don't like seeing you hurt and I don't know how you'll react to finding out."  
  
"Tell me and I'll get rid of the stake," she told him. She applied enough pressure to draw blood. Damon realized she was dead serious about punching a hole through his throat to get what she wanted.  
  
"Where did you get a stake anyway?" he asked. Raven threw the stake suddenly, it hit the wall above the trash can and clattered into it. "Don't do that!"  
  
"Mary brought it to me. She didn't know it at the time though."  
  
"Get back into the bed. That nurse will kill me if she finds you out of bed if she comes to see what made that noise." Raven assented and allowed her self to be put back into the bed. Damon sat beside her.  
  
"Raven, when you were really little, four years old, some people kidnapped you. They were going to sacrifice you. When you were found you had been beaten so badly that you were on the brink of death, vampire though you are." Raven shook her head slightly in denial. It couldn't be true. She would remember that.  
  
"Your dad didn't say it out loud, but the thoughts in his head were pretty loud and they didn't just beat you. They raped you and abused you in a lot of different ways," he told her in a soft, gentle voice.  
  
"Your dad said you were really out of it when they brought you around. You could barely remember anything, so they filled you in on what they could. They didn't know half of what had happened to you though. There was no way they could have found out. You probably forgot, or blocked most of it out," he said when she kept shaking her head.  
  
"Did, did they catch them?" she asked, glad she was half sitting, half lying in bed. She knew her legs wouldn't have supported her.  
  
"Eleven out of the twelve."  
  
"And the other one got away?" she asked looking really shocked. Damon was really surprised at how good she was taking it.  
  
"None of his followers knew anything about him. He was the one that had you most of the time you were missing."  
  
"How could none of them not know anything?" she asked. Some one had to have known something.  
  
"He was the leader. He was going to tell them what his plans were, his real name, all sorts of things, once they had proven them selves ready. Once they had proven their loyalty and that they were willing to do anything."  
  
"And to prove it they were going to sacrifice an innocent child," she stated dully. She had heard of some spells like that before.  
  
"In innocent vampire child. I'm willing to bet he wanted power and why not use powerful blood?"  
  
"You think it was a Night Worlder?" she asked. It hadn't occurred to her.  
  
"Yeah, your dad said that the sacrifice was to prove that they were witches or something like that. Besides, I don't think anything they did to you would have put you out of it like it did unless some one knew your weakness as a vampire and used it against you."  
  
Damon watched her lean up against the wall, breathing deeply. He was still a little surprised at how well she was taking it when he realized she wasn't. He reached over and stroked her cheek gently.  
  
Raven looked at him under heavy lids and blinked hard, to keep back tears. Damon took her into his arms with out another word. She clutched at him, shaking slightly from the force of the tears she was keeping back.  
  
The door opened and the nurse from earlier stood there. She took one look at Raven's face and glared at Damon.  
  
"Sir, I'll ask you to leave. I can't allow you to stay here if you're going to keep upsetting Raven like this. She's never going to get better in such a state."  
  
"I am really getting sick of her," Damon muttered, starting to stand to tell the nurse to mind her own business . Raven's fingers clenched on his shirt, refusing to let him get up.  
  
"No!" she whispered harshly.  
  
"Sir listen," the nurse said getting ready to order him to leave again.  
  
"No, you listen to me. Raven is going through a hard time now, and I'm going to stay here and help her through it. You have no right to come in here and interrupt our privacy.  
  
"Who do you think you are?" she demanded, losing all her earlier politeness.   
  
"He's my boyfriend, and he is staying her," Raven told her scathingly, her breath hitching in the middle of the sentence. "You get out and leave me be!" Her voice rose higher in pitch and when she was done glaring at the nurse she buried her face in Damon's shoulder.  
  
"My word," the nurse muttered under her breath as she left.  
  
Damon rocked Raven back and forth in his lap, whispering comforting nonsense words as she cried into his shirt. Her held her tenderly, feeding her strength and compassion through their soulmate link.  
  
Damon kissed the back of Raven's neck after brushing her hair out of the way. They were emerged in their own little world with just that little action.  
  
"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, giving her a mental caress, trying to sweep as much of the pain away as possible. Her mind lightened considerably and regained some of its normal glowing glitter, like light off faces of crystals.  
  
"It's alright," she told him with a shuddering sigh. "I'm glad you told me."  
  
"I'm not, I shouldn't have told you. I don't like it when you're hurting," he told her. Raven felt the simple truth behind it. "Not to mention you held a stake up to me to get me to tell you. That wasn't fun"  
  
"Sorry," Raven said, her laughter ringing throughout their minds. Damon loved the sound of it. Even more so because it meant her tears were through with.  
  
"You're okay now?" he checked.  
  
"Yes. I'm fine. I love you."  
  
"I love you to." 


	20. Lost and Found

Part 20  
  
Raven slept that night with a peaceful expression that Damon was very happy to see. He watched her sleep and listened to her even breaths, wondering what was next.  
  
Raven would probably want to find and kill the one guy that got away, but other then that he had no clue what was going to happen. They would just have to wait and see. The one thing that he knew no sure was that whenever Raven recovered enough to get out of this godforsaken hospital once and for all he was going to take her out to dinner and a movie.  
  
*~8~  
  
Raven awoke to blissful sunshine streaming over her face. She stretched and slung her legs over the side of the bed, forgetting for the moment that she wasn't supposed to.  
  
"I see you're looking better this morning," said a cheerful looking nurse. Raven was glad to see that it wasn't the same nurse that had kept poking her head into her business yesterday. Was it only yesterday? The way she was feeling about the news today made it seem as if she had received it ages ago.  
  
"Lots better," Raven agreed with a broad smile.  
  
"Well, not to get your hopes up or anything, but I heard the doctors talking and they're considering letting you out soon," the nurse confided.  
  
"I can't wait. What's your name?" Raven asked realizing that she had never asked the other nurse her name.  
  
"Calypso, and you're Raven, right?"  
  
"Yes, that's right."  
  
"Well, I don't want to see you ever again, in here anyway. Stay out of trouble. If I want to do the same I had better scat. The doctors about to come in. I'll come back in a little while," Calypso promised.  
  
"See you then," Raven said. She felt better then she had in a while. She realized with a start that the iron in her blood must have traveled through her system and gotten rid of its self. Her spirits soared.  
  
"Raven, how are you doing this morning?" Raven's doctor asked. It was the same doctor she had gotten every time she had been bashed up so badly she had been forced into a hospital.  
  
"I'm sick and tired of this place. I want to go somewhere. Even just up and down the hallways if nothing else."  
  
"Well, you sound a lot better. Maybe, you can go out and roam the hallways. Just so you don't lose the use of your legs." Raven cheered. "I think Damon'll throw a fit if I let you out to often. Perhaps I'll have some one come over and give you a tour of our fine hospital. She can tell you how often you should take walks."  
  
"Sure. Can Calypso do it?"  
  
"I'll try and arrange for her to do it. Don't wear you're self out though. Or else I won't let you out so soon."  
  
"When are you letting me out?" Raven asked, watching her intently.  
  
"In a few days, if not sooner." Raven cheered again. "You had better keep it down. I don't want to hear you're disturbing other patients again." Raven looked shocked.  
  
"Sorry about that."  
  
"Don't' worry about it. Nurse Halloway is always over reacting. I put her on different rounds today so you don't have to put up with her anymore."  
  
"Thank you Doctor."  
  
"I'll see you later, unless there's anything else I can do for you?"  
  
"You wouldn't happen to know where Damon is, would you?"  
  
"He and Mary are getting food from the cafeteria. I kicked them out of here this morning so they wouldn't wake you."  
  
"Oh, okay. Bye."  
  
'Hello beautiful,' Damon called out to her mentally as he came up the hallway.  
  
'Hello sweets. Did you get me anything.'  
  
'I might have,' he told her teasingly.  
  
'If you didn't I'll take what you got yourself,' she said as he and Mary walked in the room.  
  
"Hey Mary, how you doing today?"  
  
"Fine. Doctor says you get out soon."  
  
"I know, I can't wait." They talked for a while then Calypso came in to get Raven.  
  
"I'll see you guys later," Raven said all for ditching them.  
  
"Where are you going?" Damon demanded.  
  
"Doctor said I could get out of bed for a little bit. Calypso is going to give me the grand tour."  
  
"It's not exactly grand, but it is a tour," Calypso said holding out a robe to Raven. Raven slung it around her and they were gone. Raven was completely thrilled to walk around. She didn't care that she could feel Damon's annoyance as they left.  
  
*~&~  
  
Raven stood surveying the room, to make sure she hadn't missed anything. Today was the day. She finally got to leave the hospital after the long weeks. Even if she hadn't been conscious the entire time.   
  
Damon was going to drive her home and they were going to have lunch with her family before going out by themselves.  
  
Satisfied she wasn't leaving anything behind she turned around and nearly smacked into Damon.  
  
"Hey baby," she said.  
  
"Hey yourself," he said kissing her. "I got you something."  
  
"What?" she asked trying to look around him and see what he was holding behind his back. With a flourish he pulled it out.  
  
"I love it," she said taking the small bear from his hands. She kissed it and decided to hold onto it instead of jamming it into her bag.  
  
"He gets one, don't I?" Damon asked, pushing out his lower lip.  
  
"You big baby." She hugged him tightly and kissed him. They were lost in their own little world. Raven only broke the kiss so they could leave once and for all.  
  
The End. 


End file.
